Analyst Views: What did you make of Reed Elsevier’s interim financial results?

Oliver Smith is a senior reporter at The Memo, an online publication curious about the future of technology. He was formerly a reporter at City A.M.

Follow Oliver

Oliver Smith

IAN WHITTAKER | LIBERUM

The market will like Reed saying it expects organic revenue growth to accelerate over time, given improvements in the quality of the business, and the potential to increase level of cash return, and given that Reed wants to maintain the leverage level it has seen over the past several years.

GARETH DAVIES | NUMIS

Reed’s margin of 30.2 per cent was comfortably ahead of our 29.5 per cent estimate. The margin in Exhibitions was in line, but the other three business units were all ahead of our estimate. Legal was particularly encouraging, up 250 basis points on the prior year – we were at 170 basis points.

STEVE LIECHTI | INVESTEC

The first half results were generally above forecast. The 2014 outlook is unchanged though underlying trends continue to be positive for the second half. Reed is confident on its 2014 underlying revenue, profit and earnings growth. We believe Reed’s fundamental drivers are still strong.